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/ Oral History of Norman Ortman

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Title
Oral History of Norman Ortman
Contributing Institution
Mill Valley Public Library
Collection
Mill Valley History Online
Rights Information
Please contact the contributing institution for more information regarding the copyright status of this object.
Description
Longtime Mill Valley resident Norman "Bud" Ortman recounts how his family first came to Mill Valley after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. When a fire destroyed the family wood and steel business, Bud's grandfather moved his family to Mill Valley and built the house in which Bud would eventually be born. In this oral history, Bud describes daily life as a kid in Mill Valley, attending school and goofing around; sledding down Mill Valley's grassy hills and making swimming holes by damming the creeks. As Bud grew up, he held a couple of odd jobs around Mill Valley, such as a delivery boy for the Varney Brothers. After graduating from Tamalpais High School, Bud attended Stanford University, where he majored in Economics and Business. During his time at Stanford, he also met his wife Dorothy. After school, World War II began, but due to an injury, Bud was not recruited. While his friends were in the service, Bud would send them weekly newsletters updating them on life back home. On the weekends, Bud would spend time at the Buckeye before heading over to San Francisco to enjoy the night life. In his oral history, Bud recounts the local shops and businesses, as well as his 30-year career working for Nulaid Food Agricultural Co. and his time as a Mill Valley realtor. Bud also shares his post-retirement experiences as a financial officer for the Mill Valley Historical Society.
Identifier
3025746A-0558-404B-AE82-283973113724
2016.077.001
Subject
1929 Fire
Byrne, Bob
Byrne, Joe
Canet, Joe
College of Marin
Construction
Construction workers
Cory, George
Creighton, Jack
Esposti's Ice Cream Parlor
Fire
Floods
Gas stations
Goheen Gulch
Hanson, Charlie
Homestead Valley
Jackson, Blanche
Klyce, Harvey
Mill Valley changes
Mill Valley Historical Society
Miller Avenue
Moraes, Roque
MV history - Early Mill Valley to 1915
MV history - Interwar years
MV history - WWI and WWII
Old Mill School
Oral history - Local business
Oral history - Volunteerism, activism
Ortman, George Earl
Ortman, Howard
Ortman, Norman C., Sr
Ortman, Norman F
Owen, Murray
Park School
Raymond, Rita
Scouts & guides
Scouts, Boy & Girl, Marin County
Stolte, Frank
Sycamore Village
Tamalpais Hardware
Tamalpais High School
World War II

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